Notes – American Pageant Essay Example

New World with Spain obtaining most landmasses in Americas while Portugal acquired titles to lands located in Asia and Africa.

During the sixteenth century, Conquistadores, also known as Spanish conquerors, spread throughout the Americas from Colorado to Argentina. They were responsible for defeating both the Aztec and Incan empires. Capitalism is an economic system that centers around private ownership and investment in businesses for profit. As part of a broader effort by Spain to subjugate Native American tribes in the West Indies and North America, Encomienda was a Spanish government policy that involved giving Indians to specific colonists in exchange for their promise to convert them to Christianity.

The Sad Night or Noche Triste refers to the attack on Hernan Cortes and his troops in their capital city of Tenochtitlan by Aztecs resulting in hundreds of deaths.

In the subsequent city, Cortes initiated the decline of the Aztec Empire and started three centuries of Spanish dominion. Mestizos, who were individuals with mixed Indian and European lineage, mainly in Mexico, were significant. The battle of Acoma in 1599 was a conflict between Spaniards under Don Juan de Onate and the Pueblo Indians in present-day New Mexico. The Spaniards savagely crushed the Pueblo peoples and established the area as New Mexico in 1609. Pope's Rebellion in 1680 arose as a result of the Roman Catholic mission becoming central to colonial New Mexico - however, its efforts to quash native religious customs led to an Indian uprising after which the Pueblo Indian's revolt expelled Spanish settlers from New Mexico.

The Black Legend was an incorrect belief that accused Spanish conquerors of committing atrocious acts against indigenous Americans and seizing their

wealth, all while claiming to be Christian. This alliance between King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile had profound effects on Spain's past, including expelling the Muslim caliphate during the Reconquista and funding Christopher Columbus' expeditions.

While conducting his search for a route to the Far East, Christopher Columbus was financially supported by a couple who collaborated in expelling the Muslim caliphate of Cordoba during the Reconquista. Although he believed he had reached India at the time, the Italian navigator is widely recognized for discovering the "New World" with sponsorship from the Spanish Government.

Both Christopher Columbus and Francisco Coronado undertook expeditions to the New World. Columbus completed four voyages, starting with his initial sighting of land on October 12, 1492, until his death in 1503. Meanwhile, Coronado explored various regions of the southwestern United States and New Mexico from 1540 to 1542 with the goal of conquering the Seven Cities of Gold as a Spanish conquistador.

Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror, defeated and enslaved the Incas in Peru in 1532 to acquire their gold and silver riches. Despite this, Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish missionary, spoke out against the encomienda system and fought for Native American rights by condemning it as "a moral pestilence invented by Satan."

In 1519, Hernan Cortes, a Spanish explorer, conquered the Aztec civilization in Mexico. He was aided by Malinche (Dona Marina), an Indian slave who knew Mayan and Nahuatl. Moctezuma, an Aztec chieftain, was also involved in the events. The conquest of the American civilization is described in more detail on this page.

After encountering Cortes and witnessing them ride horses, Montezuma regarded the Spanish as gods and gave

them a warm welcome. Unfortunately, the explorers later seized control of the natives and reigned over them for three centuries. Another Italian explorer named Giovanni Caboto, who sailed for England, also explored the coasts of what is now known as the U.S.

S. Robert de La Salle sailed down the Mississippi River and claimed the region for King Louis of France. He named the area "Louisiana", which led to numerous place-names like LaSalle, Illinois and "Louisville". The city of New Orleans was named after King Louis, and it is also known as the American counterpart to Joan of Arc's victory at Orleans. In 1769, Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish missionary, founded Mission San Diego, which was the first of 21 missions he established in California.